Smoking Alien Productions has debuted the rough cut of Joker Rising, a fan film billed as "the dark and gritty story of the early days of the Joker and how he became what we know him as today."

Clocking in at about 1 hour and 20 minutes, the film draws inspiration from director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, recasting familiar Gotham City villains like Killer Croc, The Penguin and The Riddler in a crime drama that's light on costumes and masks. The filmmakers say they're considering using Joker Rising as the foundation for a "Gotham crime trilogy," with other members of the Dark Knight's rogues gallery receiving the same dark treatment.

(via GeekTyrant)